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GREENWIRE: Tracking Policy, Politics And The Press Page 2 of 2 <br />at depths of 500 -2,500 feet to temperatures of 650 -700 degrees Fahrenheit, which releases the oil and gas. <br />The company is planning an "integrated" demonstration project to test the processes and technologies it has been <br />developing but has not made a decision about whether to move ahead with efforts to attempt commercial -scale <br />extraction. The company hopes to make a decision about whether to go forward with a commercial project by the <br />end of the decade, a spokeswoman said Friday. <br />In its comments to BLM, Shell recommends that if the initial research and development leases are converted into <br />commercial leases, the government should charge royalties of 20 cents per barrel of oil equivalent for the first 20 <br />years, after which they would be pegged to the benchmark crude price. <br />The Defense Department is also part of the federal effort to develop oil shales. It plans to use part of its $5.5 <br />billion fuel - purchasing budget to spur technological advances. <br />John Felmy, an economist with the American Petroleum Institute, said major oil companies will indeed eye the <br />potential for oil shales -- but warily. "When you have prices go up like this, every one is going to look at what <br />resources become economical," he said. "It is something they will be cautious about, but they will look at it." <br />"Certainly the resource base has tremendous, tremendous potential," says Robert Ebel, the chairman of the energy <br />program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He predicted oil prices nearing $60 per barrel will <br />prompt new industry interest. <br />Still, he said, companies are likely to pursue significant projects only if they believe prices will remain high. "I <br />would think they are going to be very cautious," Ebel said. "Most companies are risk averse." <br />a <br />E _E__Pu_bi. s_ in_g,__LLC • E&E._Dai.i.y • Green-wire. • Land _Leger. <br />About E&E Publishing • Privacy Policy • Staff Directory • Contact Us <br />O 1996 -2004 E &E Publishing, LLC <br />http: / /www.eenews. net /Greenwire /include /print.php ?single= 04110501 4/11/2005 <br />